News & Stories

Augsburg. Innovative, funny and frightening things from the digital world, every week here. Today: Air taxi / BlessU-2 / Bread robots / Consumer electronics / Digital real estate flash survey / EU-AI platform / IBM quantum computer / IDeaS language assistant / Robot with face.

Madrid. Since 2015, the European hospitality industry has declared war on mandatory parity clauses. The last hospitality association that has started to fight these clauses is the Spanish CEHAT.

Geneva. The role of OTAs has been a subject of controversy in the hotel industry for at least the last two decades. The Holy Grail for the distribution strategy of hotels and chains is to attract as high a proportion of direct bookings as possible. In order to achieve this goal, the major chains have harnessed their frequent guest schemes in an attempt to convince prospective customers that they can only get the cheapest rates by booking on the hotel groups' websites. Now a study reveals that OTAs have a tighter grip on the hotel sector in Europe than they do in the US: They offer the lower rates.

Amsterdam/Bethesda. After Hilton in 2015, Hyatt, Trump Hotels and even IHG last year, Marriott is the latest victim of a severe data breach. The largest data breach that ever occurred in the hospitality world and the second biggest in history of all industries combined, could cost Marriott not only a lot of money, but also the trust of their members.

Munich. The guest platform TrustYou presented its new live chat channel, which is part of TrustYou's guest messaging tool. The live chat helps hotels to respond to inquiries in real time and turn more website visitors into direct bookings. Also the communication with the guests on site shall be enhanced.

Geneva. Digital technologies and in particular, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, 3D printing, and Blockchain, already affect trade costs, the nature of what is traded and the composition of trade. A new report from the World Trade Organization focuses on the ongoing change in a 25-trillion-dollar market.

Rockville. Choice Hotels International is making booking a hotel room directly easier – by enabling Book on Google. This is a new direct booking option that allows Choice Hotels' guests to seamlessly search, select, and reserve hotel rooms at its branded properties in the United States.

Milan. The increasing dynamism from the hospitality segment contributes to the rise of the Italian digital travel market, although the majority of online direct sales is still transport services. Only a small percentage of online visitors concludes its transactions.

Shanghai. Ctrip's ambition to become a global player in the tourism industry and a one-stop shop travel platform for its Chinese and international users could soon become a reality. Now the OTA is moving into hotel operations, launching its own hotel group.

Palma de Mallorca. Google Hotel Ads already represents 65% of the hotel reservations that metasearch engines take. Generally, 12% of hotel reservations are made through metasearch engines and they assist 25% to other channels.